"Serious Sam 3 VR" in the Test: don't yell at me!

The games of the "Serious Sam"series were ball games in the literal sense. House high Monster meet on an absurd story, with a wisecracking macho heroes. The 2011 published the third and last part of the "Serious Sam"series has now been implemented for virtual reality (VR). But what comes out of it when a classic game encounters a new technology?

The content of the game has changed in VR little. The 37-Euro package of the eight-hour campaign, as well as a full-fledged Multiplayer mode with different game modes. Only the extension "Jewel of the Nile" is missing in the VR version, which is on Steam with the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive to play.

Again the Aliens are to blame

Great storytellers are not invented by the Croatian developer Croteam, Serious Sam 2001, also in virtual reality. In the third part of the series the story of how the Original is only used as a backdrop for the shooting.

So there is also in VR between the sequences that take advantage of the potential of the all-round visibility, but barely. With hasty cuts and shifts of Perspective, the viewer is brought to skip.

Who still remains in it, the history of the first two series offshoot told: people have discovered in Egypt artifacts of a superior alien race, and travel, with your help, in the Vastness of the universe. Unfortunately, you anger the alien leader Mental, that is on the earth now. To stop him, Serious Sam.

The player can decide for himself how he controls the hero. Unlike in previously appeared VR game "Serious Sam: Last Hope" is not the character, namely, to the specified, but may be freely through the game world now. It can be done with various Teleport variants, or with the Analog Sticks of the Oculus Controller or the touchpad on the Vive. Overall, the game offers a lot of options for the VR experience to fit their needs.

The control variant with the analog sticks offers the most freedom of movement and allows for faster reactions. Especially, who plays the Stand and the camera perspective by head movement controls, increases the Immersion. The game is done quite dynamically, and after a short settling-in makes it easy to control.

Everything has to offer the All to

This control is also urgently needed. Because alien boss to Mentally let go of thousands of creatures on Serious Sam. High as a house Scorpions with large machine guns, for example, gigantic alien heads on two legs or kamikaze monsters with bombs instead of hands, charging in screaming at the players.

In the original game, or at the mere glance on the PC Monitor, the exaggerated opponent may seem hordes silly, under the Virtual-Reality glasses they are significantly more scary. If you suddenly have huge creatures surround and the mouth of a Cyclops is very close, running a chill down our backs. The battles are fast and require the player to be in the normal difficulty a lot.

Gray in grey

Much less exciting is the environment in which the player takes the alien hordes. Most of the time Sam in the dreary city of ruins on the road. It says a lot about the creativity of the developer, if the player is on a trip in a barren desert, or on the visual variety of a temple. Generally, the fun-filled shootings seem out of place, the Monster and the cartoon-like violence in the grey rugged city ruins, are more reminiscent of a "Call of Duty", almost.

The same architecture in the VR version even for a playful disadvantage of: The orientation is difficult. The player is therefore often unclear if he has just arrived in a new place, or whether he was ever there.

Apart from that, is to reproach the game in terms of graphics a little. The textures are sharp, the game is done with the right Hardware, pleasant liquid form.

The bottom line is that Serious Sam 3 VR is a good, intensive and relatively large Shooter for virtual reality. The error of the original version are in virtual reality, however, is even more pronounced. A little more color and fantasy, the level design had the game been good.

"Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE", for PC; 36,99 Euro on Steam; USK: ab 18 years of age, tested on PC with Oculus Rift and HTC Vive